Lagos city will host a competitive men’s senior football match of the Super Eagles for the first time in 20 years.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed that the Super Eagles will take on Lesotho in their final 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.
The match is fixed for March 30, 2021. Nigeria won the first leg in Lesotho 4-2 in 2019.
The federation also said that the number of fans allowed into the stadium to watch the match depends on the Confederation of African Football’s Covid-19 protocols at the time.
March’s clash could see the Lagos once again becoming a permanent home for the Super Eagles according to sports minister Sunday Dare who is keen to renovate the dilapidated National Stadium in Lagos.
“This city is excited to host the country’s first competitive fixture in 20 years in a place where the team rarely lose,” chairman of the Lagos State Sports commission, Sola Aiyepeku, told BBC Sport Africa
“Everything is geared towards making Lagos the home base again, because there’s a presence that this place has and demand that the fans have towards the opposition that puts them in fear.
“We want the Nigeria fear factor that this city has to return and put that in the hearts and souls of teams that come here.”
The last competitive game Nigeria played in Lagos was a 1-0 Nations Cup qualifying win over Zambia in January 2001, before a 2-1 friendly win over Sierra Leone at the Teslim Balogun venue 10 years later.
The National Stadium in Surulere, Lagos, has undergone a major refurbishment after many years of neglect.
The country’s sports ministry has now got a private concern to help renovate the sporting edifice, which was specially built to stage the All Africa Games in 1973.
